The Rough Rose
by Captain Meredith Pond
Summary: Picks up some time after the telemovie. Mainly just drabble I wrote because I wasn't happy with the loose ends left by the show... and some new ones of my own. I'm awful at titles...
1. Chapter 1

A ring of the telephone pierced through the silent night in the Blake house. Stirring from her slumber Jean slipped out of bed as gingerly as possible so not to disturb her slumbering husband, and quietly rushed down the hall.

"Blake residence," She quietly replied, hoping that the voice on the other side wouldn't be at the station to summon her husband and Matthew away at such an early hour.

"Mom?" came the tentative response from the other end of the line.

She felt her heart jump at the recognition of her wayward son's voice. "Jack?"

"Yes mom, it's me… Listen I know I've made a royal messy of things…."

"Jack! Are you okay?" she quickly interjected.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. Actually I was wondering if you and Dr. Blake would mind my visiting for a few days while I'm in the area? I'm getting a job in Melbourne and there's just so much I need to explain."

"Let me talk to Lucien at a decent time but I don't see why not!… Why are you calling so early to begin with?" Jean questioned.

"It's a long story for another day. I'm staying with a friend in Melbourne for now, so I'll give you a ring tonight? Love you mum!" and with that the line clicked into silence.

Hanging up the phone, Jean walked over to put the kettle on and fix a cup of tea before taking a seat at the kitchen table. She had so many questions, but first she had to determine where they were all to live when Jack came to visit. Mattie was on her way from England for a month, maybe more, and was due to arrive any day. Danny and Matthew would stay in their current arrangements, Mattie could take Jean had occupied before she had married the doctor, which meant Jack would be staying in Lucien's old room. Now they just had to hope the Charlie didn't decide to spring a surprise visit back to Ballarat with Mattie coming back into town. She was thankful once again that Lucien had decided to turn his mother's old studio into a bedroom for them, both for the extra guest space it provided and the seclusion from the other bedrooms.

Lucien stood leaned in the doorway watching his beautiful bride deep in thought. He had overheard the last of the conversation with her wayward son and could only assume that she was planning how to accommodate so many… colorful.. people in there filling household.

Not wanting to startle her, he quickly cleared his throat as he crossed the room, stopping when her reached her to give her a brief kiss… Well, he had intended it to be brief, but in the nine months since they had married they had yet to move out of the happy honeymoon phase, which was fine by him, and Jean didn't seem to mind it much either as she stood and deepened their embrace.

Breaking the kiss, Jean raised her eyebrows at him, "It's too early for you to be up. Why don't you head back to bed? I'm fine, but I don't think I could sleep any more at this point."

"I can think of a few more enjoyable things to pass the time if you'll come back to bed?" Lucien replied, his voice dropping to a whisper as he nibbled her neck, his deft hands already at work divesting her of her dressing gown.

"Well then doctor," she teased, "if you _insist_... Please lead the way" And she let out a slight squeal as the doctor whisked her back to their oasis for an early morning pleasure.

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While this vision of marital bliss unfolded in the kitchen, Matthew was lying wide awake planning. He had known from the moment he lay down that night that sleep would never come. After all, sitting on his nightstand was a tiny box with a simple engagement ring inside. It was shocking really how such a small item could cause a man so much trouble. He tossed a turned throughout the night debating what to say, where to say anything, how to say it… Every possible question that could be asked about a woman like Dr. Alice Harvey. Granted they hadn't been dating long, but neither had ever been married and there didn't seem to be a need for much more wait. Calming himself with the thought of see Alice tomorrow for an actual date with no bodies involved gave him reason to sleep and he finally drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and was shocked to find that breakfast wasn't ready yet.

"Sorry, I got a bit of a late start," Jean apologized, casting a sly glance at Lucien who was looking quiet smug, sitting at the table reading over the morning paper.

"Of course, not a problem Jean. I just need some coffee at the moment… I stayed late at the station last night to finish up some paperwork and now I'm paying for it." he explained.

Suddenly the ring of the telephone broke the conversation.

Danny hopped up, "I'll get it…" but before he could reach the phone Jean had slipped around him and answered it.

"Hello?" she answered, daring herself not to hope that it would be Jack's voice on the other end of the line. But of course it wasn't. A body had been found in a car abandoned on the roadside leading into town and they needed the doctor and superintendent to come have a look.

Turning to her husband she rolled her eyes, "There's a body on the outside of town, they need you and Matthew to go out and run preliminaries. I'm afraid there's no hope of breakfast being ready in time."

"No breakfast?" Asked Matthew as he limped down the hall. His leg had much improved since moving in with the Blakes, but he still relied heavily on the trusty cane at his side.

"Unfortunately not. A body's been found on the outskirts of town and we're needed." replied Lucien as he collected his coat and medical bag in the hallway. Then with a quick kiss to Jean he was gone, taking everyone else in the house with him.

"Well, best start my day," thought Jean. She would just stop her breakfast preparations and eat some toast. In all honesty, she wasn't very hungry, but she knew it could be some time before Lucien would be back to eat lunch.

She tried to busy herself with housework, mending shirts for all three men and cleaning up the room Mattie was to stay in. Lucien's old room could be prepared closer to the time they were to expect Jack's return… if he returned at all. This wasn't the first time he had called his family mysteriously, early in the morning, though it was the first time he had called her. Typically he would call Christopher to get him out of trouble. She knew because it was the only way she could keep up with her wayward son.

Eventually the entire house was tidied, the laundry was done, and there was nothing left to do besides sit and worry. "This is silly!" she chided herself, "I'll go lay down and take a quick nap."

She wasn't willing to admit it to herself, but she had been feeling less than okay for the past few weeks. She had been so stressed leading up to the wedding, and life certainly hadn't calmed down any upon their return. In fact, the rumor mill had begun to churn out even more horrid things to say since she left the church. She really did try not to let the grumpy old ladies get to her, but obviously she wasn't doing a very good job of it, she told herself as she lay down, hoping to settle her sick stomach.

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This morning had certainly not started out as Matthew had expected. He was supposed to have had the day off, but instead he had to call Alice from the station and ask her to head to the morgue to prepare for a body, essentially canceling their later date.

Matthew tried not to sound nervous as he spoke, "I'm sorry we have to cancel. I had planned something I hoped you would enjoy…"

"It's fine." was her cursory response. "You could come to dinner at home with me tonight?" she added softly.

"Of course, I'll pick you up from the morgue this evening." and with that, he promptly hung up.

Alice Harvey had never been one to buy into the concept of marriage. She had never wanted children and had been far more focused on succeeding in science that seeking out a husband when she was younger… But recently her perception of marriage had changed. She saw the loving glances passed between Jean and Lucien, the way they loved to be together at any time, the mindless touches and kisses as they went throughout their day, their lives somehow fitting together perfectly in every way. She marveled at the fact that two people who were so different could somehow also be so similar and she envied their happiness.

Or at least, she _had_ envied their happiness, until she found her own. She and Matthew had known each other for a decent amount of time now, though only romantically for a few months. But those had been some of her happiest months in her own way. She would never be a bashful lover, she was past that point in her life (if it had ever existed), but she was genuinely happy when Matthew was around- a happiness she had never experienced before. In fact, if she were truly being honest with herself she would have admitted that she was much more than happy with Matthew, she had fallen in love. And at that thought she shook her head and chided herself for losing time. The morgue needed to be prepared for the new body and she needed to finish the paperwork she had come in to do today.

I'm not totally sure how I want to proceed with this story, so any comments/suggestions are welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

The day certainly had not started out the way Matthew expected. He had planned a quiet picnic at the lake and a day filled with anything Alice had wanted. Instead he was racing out to a crime scene while Lucien babbled on about some visitor coming to the house. He had been mostly ignoring his constant talking until he heard the word "Jack" mentioned.

"Jack is coming to the house?" he asked, shocked that Lucien would welcome him and shocked that the boy would be asking to come.

Lucien rolled his eyes and replied, "Well, yes? That's what I've been saying since we left the house this morning. What's wrong with you Matthew?"

"Sorry, my mind's been a little preoccupied as of late.", came the sheepish response.

"A certain female pathologist taking up all you thoughts?" Lucien laughed. He was glad to see his friend finally finding happiness with someone. After all, everyone deserved to be as happy as he was at the moment.

Silence fell over the car when they approached the scene. It was horrible to behold, blood splattered over the entire car. As Lucien approached the body, he felt his blood boil in his veins. Inside the car sat a woman, mid to late twenties at best. Her dress had been utterly destroyed from knife slashes, and she was covered in blood. Lucien grimaced as he took in the gruesome scene, his eyes falling on her hands. They had been cleaned and posed to hold a single white rose in her hand.

He grimaces at the morbid sight and finished his initial determinations. "Odd.", he thought upon determining that the body had to have been dead for several days, but the rose seemed freshly cut. Tucking that information away for later, he stepped back from the scene and waled over to Matthew. "Any ideas", he asked.

"I haven't the foggiest." came the curt response. "We need to work this one out quickly. Crimes like these always cause a stir."

With an understanding nod Lucien hopped into his car and sped away toward the hospital. This was certainly going to be an interesting case.

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Back at the Blake residence, Jean awoke from her nap at the sound of her name being called throughout the house. Feeling no better than before, she hurriedly fixed herself in the mirror, and rushed out of her room into Mattie's waiting arms.

"Mattie!" she exclaimed "I'm so glad you could come for a visit! Let's get your things to your room and I'll fix you a bite to eat."

"Thank you Jean." she replied, picking up her suitcase and following the former housekeeper upstairs.

"You'll be staying in my old room if that's alright. Matthew took yours and Danny is in Charlie's. I assumed you would be more comfortable here than in Lucien's old room." Jean explained as she settled Mattie in.

"Of course!", she replied, she was interested to meet this new policeman than Lucien spoke so highly of in his letters.

After unpacking, the two ladies sat down for tea in the sunroom. It was a nice day and Mattie had desperately missed the bright Australian skies while in England.

"Are you sure it isn't too warm for you?" worried Jean.

"It's fine. I've missed it here so much. In fact, there's another reason I came for a visit besides to provide my belated congratulations… I'm moving back to Ballarat!", Mattie announced.

"Oh dear that's lovely! It will be so nice to finally have you here again!", Jean was reluctant to admit it at first, but she truly had missed the girl after she left. She had also begun to wonder if it would also be convenient to have another set of womanly hands in the house in the coming months...

Shaking herself from her own thoughts, Jean continued, "Do you know where you'll be staying? You know, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need!"

"Oh thank you Jean, do you mean it? I'd rather board here than at any boarding house in town. I won't be working at the hospital anymore. I've been hired to work with special services to check in on needy households, foster homes, orphanages, and the like in town; so, I'll only be going into the hospital as needed."

Jean laughed, "Of course I mean it Mattie! Lucien will be overjoyed to have you in the house again."

Jean collected their cups and made her way toward the kitchen, but what stopped dead in her tracks by Mattie's next comment.

"Lucien has something else to look forward to as well, doesn't he? You hardly touched the food and I know you were trying to hide the fact that you had been laying down this afternoon when I arrived..." she postulated, before immediately regretting her statement when Jean face went pale. "Oh no! Was I wrong? I'm sorry, I should have kept my suspicions to myself…"

"No Mattie, it's not you. Honestly, I don't know. I keep telling myself it's silly to hope at our age… That I might be _pregnant_ … But I have been rather under the weather recently. I don't want to mention it to Lucien until I'm sure, he would get his hopes up and we can't have that..."

"I understand… Have you gone to a doctor about it? Surely Alice would give you a check-up if you were concerned about privacy…"

"I'm sure she would, but every time she's here Lucien, or Matthew, or Danny is here and I can never catch her alone long enough to suggest the possibility!"

"Do you want me to run a blood test? It's not very hard and I know Lucien has what I need to run the test. Then you could be sure and stop fretting."

"Oh Mattie!" Jean cried, tears welling up in her eyes, "Could you please? I just need to know if I'm losing my mind or not. If I know for sure then I'll feel better suggesting to idea to Lucien."

The two of them started to make their way towards the study when suddenly the door flew open and Jack stumbled inside, holding himself up using the wall beside him.

"Jack!" Both women cried as the rushed to his side.

"'Ello mum, I'm afraid I'm a little worse for wear than when we last talked", and with that he collapsed.


End file.
